The Week That Was: College Swimming Turns A Corner

TUCSON – We’re two weeks into the USA collegiate championship season, and we’ve seen many performances that have defied expectations. From a university’s first trip to the top of the podium to the passing of an Olympic champion, the Week That Was had plenty of buzzworthy headlines to have the world talking.

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The Week That Was #5: Grant Hackett is back!

Though it’s still very early in the comeback stage, Grant Hackett looks like he’s serious about returning to the elite level. He competed in a local long course meet in Brisbane and won the 400 free with a 3:55.68. He also placed second in the 100 free with a 51.38. This was Hackett’s first competition since 2008 Olympics, where he was denied a third gold medal in the 1500 free, placing second there. Hackett has experienced some ups and downs since then, and we’ll see if the training he’s been putting in with longtime coach Denis Cotterell will pay off next month at Australia’s world championship trials.

The Week That Was #4: Queens University of Charlotte wins team titles at NCAA Division II championships

An impressive streak at the NCAA Division II swimming and diving championships came to a close on Saturday, as Queens University of Charlotte ended Drury’s 10-year reign as men’s team champions. Queens beat Drury by just 16 points as the Royals did not have the victory in hand until the final event. On the women’s side, Queens was much more dominant, beating Drury by 55 points to keep Drury from winning its sixth women’s title in seven years. A staggering 23 division records were broken, including three in individual events by Matthew Josa, two by Russian breaststroker Anton Lobanov and four by Patricia Castro Ortega. Josa and Lobanov made history by cracking into the list of top 10 performers of all time, with Josa doing it in the 100 fly and Lobanov making it in both breaststrokes. Division II swimming has turned a corner this year, with more than a couple of swimmers helping it to raise to a level closer to Division I competition.

The Week That Was #3: United Arab Emirates holds 10K race amid boycott by American swimmers

The second leg of FINA’s 10K World Cup series took place in the United Arab Emirates on Friday in Abu Dhabi amid a whirlwind of controversy. This was the first time the country has hosted a 10K swim since Fran Crippen died during a race in 2010, and FINA’s decision to not only allow the country to host the event but to allow the same race director to run the competition caused Alex Meyer to lead a boycott of the event by his fellow American open water national team members. Other top swimmers around the world expressed disappointment at the decision as well, and the competition was fairly light on top talent. France’s Alex Reymond won his first World Cup title, while multiple medalist Rachele Bruni of Italy won the women’s race. The prize purse was tripled for this event, which many believe was done to entice people to attend the event.

The Week That Was #2: 2017 world championships moved to Hungary

FINA has picked Budapest as the site of the 2017 world championships, replacing Guadalajara as host. The Mexican city withdrew because the cost of organizing the meet – about $100 million – exceeded the amount of money the federal government could pay. Many believed FINA would pick a new city that had experience hosting such an event, and Budapest has a history of running well-organized versions of the European championships. The city was already picked to host the 2021 championships, and now it looks like FINA will not allow Hungary to host worlds twice. The bidding process to host the 2021 worlds has now begun, and the winner will likely be announced this summer when FINA meets before the start of the world championships. No doubt the Hungarian public will flock to the pool in droves to see superstar Katinka Hosszu as she works to continue her place at the top of the podium by the time the meet begins in about 30 months.

The Week That Was #1: Olympic champion Camille Muffat dies in helicopter crash

The swimming community was shocked last week with the news that 24-year-old French swimmer Camille Muffat was killed in Argentina when the helicopter she was riding in collided in mid-air with another helicopter. Ten people, including Muffat, were killed when the helicopters collided while filming a French reality show in South America. Muffat retired from competitive swimming just nine months ago, ending a career that included an Olympic gold medal in the 400 freestyle at the 2012 Olympics and several other international medals. A public service was held in France last week to honor Muffat, and FINA expressed its deep sorrow over the loss. It’s likely that the upcoming French national championships will pause to honor Muffat’s legacy, where she likely inspired a new generation of swimmers.